[garddwr]

Hello,

I had suspected it last year but when I was just walking around the garden earlier and turning the soil here and there with a fork I could see that Wireworms are everywhere - the veg patch and in all of the borders- it would explian why things didn't do that well last year and the lack of root on the beans and sweetcorn and the holes in the carrots !

Anyway what can I do to get rid of this horrid thing ? What can I plant ? Will it affect current shrubs and plants ? Any veg that isn't affected by it ?

Thanks

[viettaclark]

Borrow some chickens and let them scratch about. They'll get rid of them!!!!

[madcat]

When we got our plot it was fresh from being grass and had a lot of wireworm in it.  A serious pain .....  you have my sympathy squared.  

The only two things we found that made a real difference were murdering every one we found and encouraging the robin and black birds to feed on the plot.  Where we put wire cloches up (against the pigeons!) and the little birds couldn't get at the soil surface, the damage was worse than where they were actively encouraged to feed by frequent hoeing.

[mumofstig]

Can you get a nematode control?...I'll have alook

Found this

[garddwr]

Borrow some chickens and let them scratch about. They'll get rid of them!!!!

all of them ?

[madcat]

And all the plants in the borders!   

[garddwr]

Thanks for all of your replies what is  nematode ? Is it for slugs?  

When we got our plot it was fresh from being grass and had a lot of wireworm in it.  A serious pain .....  you have my sympathy squared.  

The only two things we found that made a real difference were murdering every one we found and encouraging the robin and black birds to feed on the plot.  Where we put wire cloches up (against the pigeons!) and the little birds couldn't get at the soil surface, the damage was worse than where they were actively encouraged to feed by frequent hoeing.

So if I buy some bird feeders and turn the soil every day ?

[viettaclark]

You won't have any ground cover plants left but they do seem to find plenty!!!
(Not all.....chickens can't really get under grass!!!)

[Aunt Sally]

Wire worms are the larvae of click beetles that live in grassland.  I believe your plot was recently a field.

The life cycle of the beetle is 4 years so you will have a reducing problem with them for about 3 years. Last year was bad, this year will be irritating and next year should be fairly good.

[garddwr]

Wire worms are the larvae of click beetles that live in grassland.  I believe your plot was recently a field.

The life cycle of the beetle is 4 years so you will have a reducing problem with them for about 3 years. Last year was bad, this year will be irritating and next year should be fairly good.

Well thats something I suppose, well yes I did have a plot in the field and the spuds were eaten and the soil was bad and it was too big to be honest so I'm concentrating on my little veg patch in the garden and all the borders around the garden which I grow veg in and my greenhouse and pots and flowers and shrubs !

[JayG]

I've had a bit of a surf around for info and I agree with Aunty (partly because I'm a creep and partly because a site I found selling nematodes was charging £29.99 for them and advising that several treatments would be necessary, bought fresh each time because the culture doesn't keep!) 

[PAULW]

http://orgprints.org/10863/
This may be of interest

[gardener247]

mustard green manure is what they like so give them lots and they'll hatch as click beetles and move to a different place

[madcat]

So if I buy some bird feeders and turn the soil every day ?

sounds like a plan - you could add the odd robin nest box.  A parent bird needs a lot of worms for a nest of chicks!

[Bigbadfrankie]

Gardener24 is right plant mustard and send them on